FROM See-You-Jimmy hats to I HEART Scotland t-shirts, holiday souvenirs are generally more tat than tasteful.

But a new exhibition and shop which opened at Edinburgh Airport this week sees the best nine Scottish souvenirs ever designed go on display and for sale.

As part of Scotland’s Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design, nine cutting-edge designers from Orkney to Edinburgh were asked to create something they’d like to pack in their suitcase as a memento.

Available during the run of this year’s Edinburgh International Festival, the Local Heroes collection is an eclectic mix of pieces - and there’s not a tartan tammy in sight.

The Rain Dance Umbrella

The Rain Dance Umbrella (Image: Stuart McClay)

Known around the world for her quirky silk and cashmere scarves, Karen Mabon looked to the skies and the unpredictable Scottish weather for inspiration. The result was a pastel pink brolly or sunshade covered with hand-painted dancers. “It’s a tongue-in-cheek nod to our famously changeable weather,” said the Edinburgh-based designer. “I wanted to create something that would be really eye-catching among all the colour and drama of the Festival.”

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The Archipelago Blanket

Archipelago by Hilary-Grant (Image: Stuart McClay)

Tartan travel blankets are something of a cliche - but Hilary Grant’s 100 per cent lambswool throw couldn’t be classier. The Orkney designer was influenced by the knitting traditions of Scotland and our neighbouring Nordic countries. The blankets are practical - keeping travellers warm - but also colourful, inspired by world and nautical flags.

The Arrow Travel Pouch

Arrow Travel Pouch by Laura Spring (Image: Stuart McClay)

Glasgow-based textile designer and maker Laura Spring has created a travel product highlighting her trademark love for colour, print, pattern and process. The Arrow Travel Pouch, is a screen printed cotton cosmetics bag with a hand-stamped leather zip puller and waterproof lining. A stylish way to carry your favourite travel essentials.

Three Tropical Beach Towels

Three Tropical Beach Towels by Gabriella Marcella

Bright and colourful, Glasgow designer Gabriella Marcella’s towels wouldn’t look out of place on a Mediterranean beach or at the local swimming pool. She says wanted to take the idea of a mass-produced memento and subvert it. “Souvenirs often carry a certain nostalgic quality and kitschness that’s specific to a time, place, or event. The driving force to buy a souvenir is often that you can only get it in that place and time and so it serves as a reminder."

The Axis Swimsuit

Axis Swimsuit (Image: Stuart McClay)

Not the most obvious Scottish souvenir perhaps, but the one-shouldered swimsuit by Glasgow’s Rebecca Torres is a design classic. “It encourages people to purchase something unexpected,” she said. “Those returning home after a visit to Scotland can take hold of this item and always be reminded of their time here while residents leaving Scotland for summer sun can be proud to own a piece from a local designer.”

The Totem 006 Necklace

The Totem 006 Necklace (Image: Stuart McClay)

This piece of jewellery has a licence to thrill with its quirky character. Inspired by the colours of summer, the tomato red resin sits beside bright brass and clean white marble Corian; crisp glass-effect acrylic and mint cotton cord. Described by its designers Tom Pigeon - based in Anstruther - as “a modern souvenir; a bold celebration of our skills, our environment, and of the craftspeople and makers that surround us.”

Nummer Wans

Nummer Wans

An iconic poster by Glasgow’s Warriors Studio, it gives pride of place to the best of Scottish inventions and creations, from square sausage to Sherlock Holmes, the telephone to The Broons - as well as letting tourists take a little west-coast dialect home with them.

The Trakke Backpack

Trakke Backpack (Image: Stuart McClay)

Founded in the front room of a Glasgow tenement, Trakke has become a luxury brand with international appeal. For the collection it designed the Fingal and Assynt 12 – two new backpacks in bright blue waxed cotton fabric. “For us, a backpack is the perfect souvenir – originating in Scotland, it serves as a reminder, but it’s also a statement of intent – the intent to travel, explore and experience the world. It marks the start of a bigger adventure” says founder and designer Alec Farmer.

The Instrmnt Watch

The Instrmnt Watch

You’ll never forget your visit to Scotland every time you look at your wrist with a minimalist black watch from the Glasgow firm. It comes in separate parts for the buyer to put together - making it truly personal - and in striking packaging, which was inspired by the x-ray machinery of airports.